Jurgen Klopp made 11 changes and saw his Liverpool side draw 0-0 with Plymouth

Clueless FA suits who do not know how to market their own flagship competition? Or greedy TV executives who would rather screen Manchester United 55 times than opt for a potential giant-killing?

At Sutton’s Gander Green Lane, the last of the great romantics gathered for an FA Cup fixture which resonated with any football supporter of a certain age.

Sutton, the non-leaguers who famously defeated top-flight Coventry here in 1989, against AFC Wimbledon, the reborn club who went from the Southern League to winning the Cup against Liverpool.

There was a throwback atmosphere, the old place rammed with 5,200 punters, Nessun Dorma blaring out of the rattling PA system and David Pleat buying chips in a polystyrene tray from the tea hut.

Another spectator was Alan Pardew. Last May, he thought he had won the Cup when Jason Puncheon netted a late opener for his Crystal Palace side against Manchester United.

They ended up losing, but still, Palace had been to the Cup final twice in their history. Once when Pardew scored a semi-final winner in 1990 and again when he managed them last season.

It did not count for anything when Palace’s Premier League form nosedived, though, because Pardew was sacked.

And winning the Cup did not mean anything to United’s directors as Louis van Gaal was sacked two days after the final.

So while it is easy to berate Howe for changing his entire line-up as the Cherries were thrashed at Millwall, or Klopp for doing likewise in the 0-0 draw with Plymouth, it ought to be pointed out that a Cup run would be irrelevant to the job security of either man.

Louis van Gaal won last season's FA Cup and was sacked by United two days later

Ivor Heller, a Wimbledon director who has been consulted by the FA over ideas to revive the Cup’s status, claims such team selections are ‘diabolical’ — and plenty of Bournemouth fans would agree.

But Wolves made more changes than Stoke, yet still defeated the Premier League club. It was the same at West Brom against Derby.

So are managers really guilty of killing the Cup, when owners of top-flight clubs clearly care so little for it?

For the managers of Sutton and Wimbledon, BBC and BT television executives who shunned their tie for more lucrative coverage were in the dock.

Neither could believe they had screened West Ham v Manchester City and Manchester United v Reading instead of their own goalless draw.

Sutton boss Paul Doswell, whose side will be the lowest-ranked team in tonight’s fourth round draw, said: “The BBC are a taxpayer-funded organisation and should not be solely after the biggest viewing figures.

"I don’t blame BT as much, but still — after eight minutes, United were 2-0 up and City beat West Ham 5-0. We see that every week.

“We were devastated they didn’t choose us for TV because it could have built changing rooms for the kids.

“If they get it right and choose the replay for live coverage, it is worth £75,000 and that’s a quarter of my budget.

“The Cup is only devalued for Premier League clubs. The excitement is still there from the Championship down.”

Wimbledon boss Neal Ardley, a Dons schoolboy player when the original club won the Cup in 1988, said: “When the BBC took back the FA Cup the whole remit was to put the romance back into it. In a world where money is talking and a lot of people only watch Premier League football, the Cup gives us a chance to just look elsewhere.

“When I saw our draw I thought ‘a non-league team, on a 3G pitch, in a local derby, it has got everything’. The Coventry game, the Wimbledon history — it had everything you want.

“To end up with Arsenal, Man United, Spurs and Man City, it’s disappointing.

“Once again, money talks because they thought the viewing figures will be more. They are missing the point.

Elsewhere, attendances held up — there were packed houses at The Hawthorns, Anfield and Deepdale for Preston v Arsenal, while Wycombe attracted twice their average gate for the visit of non-league Stourbridge.

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